Bestiary
Reanimated by the N4 virus, a failed attempt to find a cure for cancer by Secronom, zombies were born. Many are the stereotypical mindless, flesh-eating drone, with only one goal: To kill all uninfected humans. However, grotesque mutants, increasing in numbers as days go past, manifest an unstoppable rage for the living... When you first venture into the city, zombies appear infrequently, move slowly, and are easy to kill. As you move deeper into the city, progressively tougher zombies will appear, easily identifiable by their color. There are also several factors - like all kinds of movement and fighting noise - that will increase "Aggro" (Aggression), or more exactly, the number of zombies that will spawn nearby (up to 8 at once) and their moving speed. Important Notes * Experience gained is doubled while you are at Nourished, but cut in half when you are Starving. * All zombies start moving faster at higher levels of "Aggro", which also increases the experience gained per kill. * There are three levels of movement speed for zombies: walking, a 'power-walk', and a sprint. * All experience gains shown were tested at "Nourished" nutrition level and at the normal zombie walking speed. * Zombie healths (and EXP) get changed now and then due to Nerotonin mutations. Take these values as estimates, not facts. * Silent weapons like blades and blunts are recommended for use, to keep aggro low. * Tier Four and Tier Five zombies (Behemoths and green (irradiated) zombies) cannot be found in multiplayer. EXP refers to the exp'''erience gained from a zombie. Tier I - Grey Zombies (Infected) Normal, grey or pale zombies are the first enemies you will meet when entering the city. They appear practically everywhere in the western half of the city and are perfect training targets for weaker survivors. The first 10 blocks around the outpost are almost only populated by these zombies, aside from the occasional Green Zombie. Tier II - Purple Zombies (Burnt/Charred Zombies) & Crows Purple-grayish zombies will initially appear about 10 blocks away from the outpost in any direction. Even though purple is a very unusual skin color, they are almost always called like that since their skin does in fact have a very subtle magenta tone. During the "Burning Days", a lot of zombies where simply wounded, bound together and burned on large piles which can be still found in the city. Yet a good lot of zombies survived this, only their clothes, human skin and the ropes turned to ashes, while the highly regenerative N4 virus generated a new skin right above the zombies' muscles. At first this skin was blue, then soon it turned purple and stayed that way. Due to these mutations and their history, these zombies are also referred to as "Charred Zombies". Tier III - Red Zombies (Mutated Zombies) Red zombies, fat red zombies, and long armed red zombies, all horribly mutated into monsters and with differing features, whether it be a huge gain in muscle or an extension in skeletal structure, are found in stages, meaning they aren't truly one group. They appear about 20 or 30 blocks away from the outpost and are the strongest of all regular zombies. Tier IV - Mini-Bosses (Irradiated Zombies) A few zombies are heavily irradiated versions of their brethren, thus meaning they must have been exposed to radiation of some sort, causing them to glow green. They stick out and can be seen easily, even against the dark horizon. They randomly appear in their weaker brethren's zone or even farther out in the Inner City. All of them posses extraordinary health, strength and speed once angered or sufficiently damaged. All green zombies carry some kind of valuable item, the quality of which depends on the type of monster and area where it was found. Looting this reward, however, is difficult due to the many weaker zombies that always follow these beasts to share in the almost always guaranteed meal after a battle. Green zombies prefer to ambush their prey when they are hiding in buildings to entrap and swarm them with their "minion" zombies, which appear to follow them around, or attract them. Whatever theories say about them, they're still threats. After December 27th 2008, the appearance rate of Green Zombies was increased to counter complaints that looting wasn't fair, and that one should have to earn rarer items by fighting for them. (Note: With the release of missions, some insight was given on green zombies. Green zombies are referred to as "irradiated" - players may be tasked with looting "Irradiated" Blood Samples from green zombies.) Tier V - Bosses Old Zombies These zombies appeared in the earlier game stages, but vanished from the city after several weeks. '''Blue Zombies The blue zombies vanished shortly after being first discovered and were replaced by the commonly called "purple" zombies, which reside in the same area but are a bit stronger than the blue ones. Rumors say that the blue zombies possibly evolved, but too many people believe otherwise, as zombies do not breed, or their glowing flesh simply rotted. Red Zombies These started appearing around 30 screens away from the outpost, currently there are only reports of several kinds of male and fat zombies. They are the "prototype" reds in the game's early stages.